Q 13 How do you respond to Giles Corey and how does Miller make your respond as you do?
In your answer you could have included:
- The way that when we are first introduced to Giles he is said to be a foolish old man and a comical hero in Miller's stage directions and by John Proctor as a foolish, deaf old man who is forever taking people to court, not necessarily for good reasons. Luckily John is more patient and tolerant and only gently mocks Giles' litigious nature!
- However he has Proctor's protection so this is clearly a good thing and he and Giles ally themselves against both the Putnams and Rev Parris.
- He is shown to be a bit prone to wanting attention from those he perceives to have authority and status so that when Hale comes to town he is keen to know why his wife reads book which stop his prayers and what kind of books they might be.
- At this stage he has no idea of the trouble this will land his wife in.
- He is a stirrer and trouble-maker; whenever there is trouble in the village people always look to him as the cause first.
- He is contentious and naive and quite intolerant!
- He brags about how often he has been in court. '33 time'
- However he becomes a hero by accident! When his wife is arrested he realises his foolishness and is desperate to make amends. With John he rushes to the court with character references rashly believing that the court is the seat of justice. He realises his mistake when the name of his chief witness against Putnam is demanded. Now he understands that he can no longer save his wife but he can prevent another injustice being done to this witness and refuses to give the name to the court, putting him in contempt of court and he suffers the ultimate penalty: pressing to death.
- Even though he did not do this for entirely unselfish reasons, after all this was the way that he could ensure his land was not lost but could go to his family, yet this act makes him heroic.
- Thus Miller has manipulated the reader / audience's opinion of Giles from the buffoon kind of character he starts off as to a flawed but grandly heroic character he ends as.
- Miller's portrayal of Giles is intended to show us how the ordinary person gets sucked in to the system and the choices they make about their actions - honourable or not - are what make them stand out as individuals. His writing of this play was to point out that we have to take individual responsibility for our consciences; only this way can real justice prevail. And unfortunately this stand can result in loss of life or reputation.
Q 14 How does Miller present different attitudes to the court in The Crucible?
The things to remember here are:
Who has power? Who does not? How do they use it? And what is Miller saying about power and justice?
- Parris is one of the highest ranking members of the Salem community by virtue of his job as minister. However when the courts convene in Salem he loses his status to Danforth and Hathorne. Keen to keep as much power as he can and not get side-lined he ignores what he already knows, attempts to keep evidence which might subvert the court away from the judges 'He comes to over throw the court.' And generally perjures his conscience such that by the end when it is Proctor's turn to hang he realises that he has lost and desperately tries to change Danforth's mind. By this time he realises the village has turned against him, there are too many orphans and untended animals as a result of the hangings and imprisonments and unrest is rife. He is afraid there will be 'a riot' like there was in Andover and he will be thrown out. Of course by this time Abigail has left and taken his life savings with her too!
- Danforth has arrogance and confidence and a history of successful discoveries of witchcraft behind him. He knows that the devil cannot corrupt a minister such as he. And once he has believed Abigail and the other girls he has set foot upon a path he cannot turn around on. Hence when Proctor comes to the court with evidence that the girls are lying and that it 'were all pretence' he offers John a deal - he can have his wife's sentence commuted so she will remain a live for another year or he can give his evidence. When John surprisingly rejects the deal he calls for Elizabeth to tell the court her version. Stipulating that none of the characters can look at one another he demands she say if John is a lecher. Caught between a rock and a hard place Elizabeth opts to lie for John to show her love as she has been unable to do before now, unfortunately choosing the very worst time to do it. Luckily for the judge her lie damns John's evidence and confession. His acceptance of her lie without looking for the obvious reasons and choosing to ignore the equally obvious why would John make something like this up shows his weakness. He is guilty of injustice and abuse of his power. For Hale, this is the last straw and upon John's sentencing he 'denounce[s] these proceedings and quit[s] the court.'
- Abigail is of course guilty of manipulation of the court. She is the only one who is completely aware of the flawed nature of the courts. Her evidence is accepted unquestioningly, her status has risen, people in the town give way to her and she has a power she never dreamed of having. Now she wields it to get her own way. She gives false evidence, false witness, encourages the girls to do the same and rewards them with her favour. The only time she comes close to being doubted in the court she quickly sparks another hysterical outburst this time saying she sees Mary's spirit in the shape of a yellow bird and the courtroom falls apart. By the end of this scene she's is back in control never again to have her character doubted.
- Mary is an interesting character in her attitude to the court in that presented by Miller at the beginning as a naive, shy and servile young girl who did not have many friends, she discovers she likes being the court's servant doing 'God's work' but also discovers that her conscience pricks her. Convinced eventually by Proctor to tell the court the truth, she struggles with her fear of Abigail and loses, going back over to Abigail's side in a fatal blow to the cause of justice.
- Then of course there's Reverend Hale who comes to Salem all eager and confident in his own knowledge and authority and goes away a 'broken minister.'
- Finally Proctor who seems to be the only one who sees to the heart of the matter 'and why not when they would hang' he lectures Hale of those who have 'confessed.'
- Miller's point here is that like in his own era the ideals of justice, hard evidence and being innocent until proven guilty have vanished from the courtroom to be replaced by the acceptance of gossip, hearsay and accusation. Innocent and guilty alike have been swept up in the ensuing hysteria and individual freedom and integrity lost in the battle to survive. This is what McCarthyism did to 1950s America in its hunt for Communist sympathisers and this is what the Salem Witchcraft trials did in late 17th Century America.
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